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1277 Words
A month had passed since Nadia walked into her father’s office and asked him to hand her a sinking company.
Somehow, she was making it float.
Whitmore & Co. was still in debt. Still under pressure. Still one bad decision away from becoming tomorrow’s headline.
But for the first time in months, things were looking up.
In just four weeks, Nadia had brought in new investors and cleared nearly a fifth of the company’s twelve-million-dollar debt.
And Conrad Whitmore couldn’t have been prouder.
“How did you convince them to buy stocks?” he asked, staring at her across his desk. “We were in worse shape than companies filing for bankruptcy. How did you do it?”
He still sounded like he was trying to understand what had happened.
Nadia smiled.
“Well, Dad, you know I didn’t go to business school to take cute pictures.”
Conrad laughed.
“One thing they taught me in my first year that actually stuck was this: you don’t sell just the product. You sell the idea behind it.”
She leaned back in her chair.
“You make the buyer—or the investor—believe it’s worth buying. And if you don’t believe in it yourself, it’s going to be very, very difficult to make anyone else believe in it.”
Conrad stared at her for a moment.
Then he smiled.
“My little girl is all grown up.”
“Okay, old man. Don’t cry. It’s too early.”
She grinned.
“Besides, I only cleared a fifth of the debt. We still have a long way to go.”
“Still, in the first month, that’s impressive.” Conrad shook his head. “Where did you even find these investors? We’re not exactly hot on the market right now.”
“I have friends from school.”
“Friends?”
“They’re building their own companies now. They’re still small, and investors aren’t exactly fighting to get into them. WhitCo, on the other hand, has a strong history, a recognizable name, and a solid track record despite what’s happening now.”
She shrugged.
“So I give them an opportunity to invest in an established company, and they give us the capital we need.”
Conrad’s eyebrows rose.
“It’s a win-win.”
He smiled.
But it wasn’t the smile of a father watching his daughter succeed.
Not entirely.
He was looking at the person who was saving his empire.
And for the first time, Conrad wondered if Nadia had been ready for this long before he realized it.
Nadia checked the time on her phone and immediately stood.
“I’m going to lunch with Jacqueline, and I’m already late.”
She grabbed her bag.
“Please tell Kate to lock up when you’re leaving.”
She leaned down and kissed his cheek.
“Love you, old man.”
“Love you too.”
Nadia was halfway to the door when Conrad called after her.
“Nadia?”
She turned.
“Yeah?”
He smiled.
“Keep going.”
Her smile softened.
“I will.”
⸻
Jacqueline had been Nadia’s best friend since third grade.
They were inseparable in the way only childhood best friends could be. They had grown up together, survived awkward teenage years together, and somehow remained close even after ending up on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
While Nadia studied business in Paris, Jacqueline went to law school.
Now she worked at a law firm in Los Angeles, where both of their families lived.
She was also one of the few people Nadia trusted enough to ask for advice when Mr. Bennett wasn’t available.
Which was why Jacqueline had heard approximately every detail of Nadia’s first month as acting CEO.
And she had opinions.
A lot of them.
“So, Mrs. CEO…”
Jacqueline dragged the words out as she stirred her coffee.
Nadia groaned.
“Don’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not actually the CEO. I’m just acting in my father’s place.”
“Acting or not, you’re good.”
Nadia smiled.
“Speaking of good, how’s Jace?”
Jacqueline’s entire face changed.
“He’s okay.”
Nadia raised an eyebrow.
“Okay?”
“Still office tension.”
“Office tension?”
Jacqueline smiled into her coffee.
“But he’ll ask me out soon. I can feel it.”
Nadia laughed.
“Sure.”
Jacqueline had always been the hopeless romantic between them.
Nadia was the opposite.
Relationships had never really made it onto her list of priorities.
She had a company to save.
A twelve-million-dollar debt to clear.
And an entire family name sitting on her shoulders.
Romance could wait.
Apparently, that made her even more interesting to men.
They were both beautiful, but Jacqueline was the one people actually approached.
Nadia, on the other hand, seemed to have some invisible warning sign above her head.
Approach at your own risk.
Jacqueline suddenly reached for her phone.
“Oh!”
Nadia narrowed her eyes.
“What?”
“There’s this new guy.”
“No.”
“You haven’t even heard what I’m going to say.”
“Because I already know.”
Jacqueline ignored her.
“I think he would look really good with you.”
Nadia rolled her eyes.
“Again, Jaqie?”
“He’s handsome.”
“I’m sure.”
“And successful.”
“Obviously.”
“Just like you.”
Nadia gave her a look.
“Yes, just like the other seven men you’ve tried to set me up with.”
“That is an exaggeration.”
“Is it?”
Jacqueline unlocked her phone.
“At least look at this one.”
She pushed the screen across the table.
Nadia sighed before picking it up.
She expected another carefully selected profile.
Instead, she paused.
Her eyes moved across the screen.
Then back up.
Then down again.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
Okay.
He was attractive.
Very attractive.
Jacqueline immediately noticed.
“You like what you see, huh?”
Nadia handed the phone back.
“He’s cute, Jaqie.”
Jacqueline practically lit up.
“His name is Xavier Sterling.”
She grinned.
“Hot stuff.”
Nadia laughed.
“Don’t start.”
“I’ll send you his Instagram.”
“Fine.”
“Yes!”
“But—”
Jacqueline stopped.
Nadia took a sip of her coffee.
“I still have a lot of work to do at WhitCo.”
Her smile faded into something more serious.
“When things get better, maybe I’ll look into suitors.”
Jacqueline stared at her.
“Maybe?”
“Maybe.”
Nadia had always dismissed the idea of suitors.
She was either too busy, not interested, or simply “not looking for a relationship at the moment.”
And strangely enough, the more unavailable she made herself, the more people seemed to want her attention.
Some wanted her because of her name.
Some wanted her money.
Some wanted access to WhitCo.
And some, she suspected, might have genuinely liked her.
The problem was that Nadia could never tell which was which.
So she didn’t take chances.
Whenever someone showed interest, she assumed they wanted something from her.
It wasn’t exactly healthy.
But it had saved her from a lot of unnecessary trouble.
And Nadia preferred unnecessary trouble to heartbreak.
She picked up her phone again.
A notification appeared on the screen.
For a second, she glanced at the name.
Xavier Sterling.
Jacqueline’s doing.
Nadia smiled faintly.
Then she locked her phone and pushed it aside.
She had a company to save.
Xavier Sterling could wait.
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